by Lisa Cassidy
He shrugged slightly, and she swore amusement flashed briefly in his eyes. “It’s like Landau said. We didn’t want one of your sentries overreacting to our approach and someone getting hurt.”
“I see.” She looked at the trees surrounding them. “How many of you are there?”
“Enough to see you safely to Widow Falls, Lady Egalion. You’ll remember Lord Mirren’s policy that all weapons are to be surrendered on entry to his lands.” Romney’s hands settled at his belt. “As soon as your pretty soldiers hand over their swords, we can take you in to see the lord.”
Alyx reached out to grab Dashan’s arm in warning as her peripheral vision caught him opening his mouth to speak. She smiled at Romney. “We’ll be mounted and ready to follow you in a few minutes.”
Dashan rounded on her the moment Romney and his warriors had stepped back towards the trees. “I am not giving up my weapons to those men.”
Alyx glanced at the Bluecoats, still clustered nearby, and over towards the trees, where the Widow Falls men waited. Sighing inwardly, she lowered her voice and stepped closer to Dashan.
“Do you want me to overrule you again in front of your unit, because that’s what I’ll do if you don’t back down,” she hissed. “We’re going onto Lord Mirren’s lands, and I won’t let you start a fight with his men because you can’t manage your temper.”
“I’m here to keep you safe,” he snarled. “I can’t do that if my unit has no weapons.”
“Romney is not going to hurt us. You need to trust me. I will ensure you get all your weapons back when we leave.”
He nodded tightly and stepped away from her. With quick movements, he unbuckled his sword belt and placed it on the ground.
“You heard Lady Egalion. Swords and knives on the ground.” He barked the orders at the waiting Bluecoats before striding away towards the horses. “Then get your behinds on your horses quick smart. Casta, Jenka, we’re going to have a conversation about sentry duty later, and I promise you you’re not going to like it.”
Alyx’s shoulders sagged in relief. Her eyes caught on Romney’s, watching impassively. She wondered what he was thinking, whether he knew her true relationship to Ladan. Dismissing her thoughts, she turned to gather her things. Dashan was already in a foul mood, and her taking too long to be ready would only make it worse.
Chapter 2
“Lord Mirren is waiting for you inside,” Romney told Alyx as they reined in just inside the front gates of the estate. “If you’ll follow me, the grooms will take care of your horses. Your Bluecoats can stay in our barracks.”
“That’s fine, but Lieutenant Caverlock stays with me.” It was a concession to Dashan, and fortunately Romney accepted it after only a brief hesitation.
“Stay close,” Dashan murmured in her ear as they began walking up the long drive. “I don’t trust these people.”
“I never would have guessed,” she said dryly.
Romney led at a brisk walk up the front steps and inside the huge, castle-like structure. The interior was gloomy and slightly musty, but nothing like the terrifying structure she remembered from her first visit, when she’d been dragged indoors in the middle of the night.
The warmth from several large fires lining the walls of the great hall made her thick cloak unnecessary and she reached up to push it back from her shoulders. In here it was lighter, with daylight pouring in from high arched windows below the roof.
“Leave us, Romney.”
Alyx turned towards the top of the room at the sound of the familiar, cold voice. The last time she’d seen Ladan Mirren, he’d been walking away from her, leaving DarkSkull Hall for good after telling her he was her brother. The memory of how she’d broken down in the moments after that declaration wasn’t pleasant, but despite that she found a smile spreading across her face. The doubts that had been deepening over the past days vanished in a moment. The door clanged behind Romney, covering the sound of Ladan’s boots as he strode towards them.
Her smile widened—he hadn’t changed at all. Still tall and graceful with a hard face, cold green eyes and short-cropped dark brown hair, his expression revealing little about what he was thinking.
“I’m sorry,” she spoke first. “You were telling the truth. I know that now. I know who you are, and I accept it.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw—surprise, maybe. Instead of addressing her words, however, his gaze shifted to Dashan. “Lady Egalion. I would have preferred if you had come alone.”
“Dashan isn’t a stranger. He’s part of my protective detail, which you know,” she said evenly. “You didn’t expect me to travel here alone?”
“I would have expected some notice of your arrival.” The hardness in his gaze didn’t change. It seemed time hadn’t improved his obstinate refusal to show any softness.
“Fair enough,” she said. “Next time, if possible, I promise to warn you in advance that I’m coming and who I’m travelling with.”
He conceded with a slight smile. “Thank you.”
“Do you think twelve months’ notice would be sufficient?” Dashan couldn’t help needling him further.
Ladan turned to Dashan with a disdainful look. “It is not for you to question a lord’s practices, Lieutenant Caverlock.”
“Can we talk?” Alyx intervened before Dashan lost his temper.
Ladan flicked a glance at Dashan. “We should talk further... I want to. But not with him here.”
She turned to reassure Dashan. “It’s fine, really. Why don’t you go and make sure the Bluecoats are settling in without starting any fights?”
“Romney will be waiting outside the door,” Ladan added. “He can take you to your men.”
Dashan’s jaw tightened as he glanced between her and Ladan for a long moment before he gave a stiff nod and strode off. The door closed loudly behind him, echoing through the large space. Alyx and her brother looked at each other for a long moment as the echoes slowly faded away. She had so much to say, but wasn’t sure where to start.
Ladan eventually cleared his throat. “Would you like anything to eat or drink?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“Let’s sit over here. Can I take your cloak?”
She gave it to him gratefully before taking a seat on a couch near one of the fires. He hung her cloak before sitting on a chair facing the couch, and again, he was the one to break the silence.
“Aly-girl, you’re dressed in an apprentice robe. I thought you were never going back to DarkSkull?”
“I wasn’t.” She sighed, wondering where to begin, how to explain herself. “And I don’t truly want to now. But I want answers, Ladan. My father lied to me, my mother stole my memories, and so did Master Romas. More than that... I don’t want to be helpless anymore. I want to be useful, more than just a spoiled lord’s daughter.”
“You’re already more than that,” he said softly. “But I understand what you’re saying. Is that why you came here—for answers?”
“Partly, but also because you’re my brother and I wanted to see you.”
“I see.” He didn’t seem to know what to do with that. After a moment he looked up from the carpet. “What do you want to ask me?”
“You said you left DarkSkull early because you thought we both would be safer if you did. What did you mean?”
“I don’t have magic. I didn’t break out while I was there, and I haven’t since.” Ladan hesitated. “Master Howell spoke to me just before I left, after the attack on the watchtower. He thought... given our parentage, that once it became clear I wasn’t a mage, others might start to wonder if I could be a Taliath instead. I think he was right.”
Alyx sucked in a breath. Taliath. Ancient guardians of the mage order. Elite warriors who had almost entirely vanished from the world. It made sense, and she wondered why it hadn’t occurred to her before. “But why does that mean you had to leave DarkSkull? Surely the mages would be overjoyed to find a Taliath potential?”
“Howell thought that being a Tal
iath might place me in danger too,” Ladan said carefully. “It’s unlikely the Taliath have vanished from the world for no reason. He thought it would be better for me to leave before I proved beyond doubt I had no magic. That way anyone who already suspected I might be a Taliath wouldn’t know for certain.”
“Howell was trying to protect you?” Alyx was confused—she knew Howell had hidden things from her, and she’d never been certain exactly who, or what, he’d been ultimately loyal to. This cast him in a different light.
“I think so,” Ladan said. “He also pointed out that if I became a target, then that could place you in more danger. If I was gone, the connection between us wouldn’t be as clear.”
So had Howell been protecting Ladan, or trying to separate the two of them? The thought popped unbidden into Alyx’s mind and she found she couldn’t easily dismiss it. Something about Ladan’s account didn’t quite make sense either, but she couldn’t pin down what.
“Are you sure there’s nothing else?” She searched his face, some instinct telling her there was more.
He hesitated. “Nothing I can be sure about.”
A silence fell between them, interspersed with crackling and popping from the fire. Questions filled her, wanting to spill out, but part of her was wary—her world had changed so much already and she still hadn’t really come to grips with it. His answers could make things even worse. In the end she settled for, “Do you remember much about me from when we were children?”
“Of course.” He smiled a little. “You used to follow me around everywhere. Even when I was playing with my friends. You were like a little shadow, always there,” he said quietly. “I didn’t mind. You were bright, and tough too. You fell off a low wall one day and scraped your knees. I carried you all the way home, and you didn’t cry once.”
Tears threatened, and she fought not to let them fall. “What about our mother?”
“She looked a lot like you. Her hair was lighter, but you’ve got the same eyes. She had a presence too—she could command the attention of the room without even thinking about it.”
“Papa is like that,” Alyx murmured.
The skin around his eyes tightened, but he didn’t openly acknowledge the mention of their father. “One time another minor lord visited here. My stepfather was naturally a hermit, and our mother was determined to keep a low profile, so they didn’t often have visitors. Anyway, my stepfather held a formal dinner in welcome. He and the visiting lord were debating something… some trade policy, I think? Our mother told him in no uncertain terms that he was a short-sighted, intolerant fool and walked out before dinner was over.”
“Really?” Alyx smiled.
“My stepfather apologised, said something about how mother spoke the truth and didn’t care about what anyone else thought of her. I was sent to bed soon after.” Ladan’s eyes turned distant. “She was kind, though. She didn’t speak down to me like most adults did. She was brisk, not soft, but she was kind.”
“I wish I could remember her,” Alyx whispered.
“When she took me away from you and our father, I didn’t understand.” The coldness crept back into his voice. “I missed you. Nobody followed me around anymore. I was worried; what would happen if you fell from a tree again and I wasn’t there? So when you came here last year… it was a shock, but I had heard about DarkSkull, what it was like. I couldn’t let you go there alone. I knew the masters would accept me once they realised who I was—Romas seemed to know from the moment I walked into the room that night.”
“He never told me, though,” she said bitterly. Remembered anger simmered, an anger that had never truly gone away after realising how much had been hidden from her, how the people around her—even those that loved her—had lied and manipulated. “None of them did.”
“I think he assumed you knew, at first. I asked him not to say anything, though. I told him if anyone was to tell you, it would be me, and if he went against me I’d walk away and take you with me.”
Her simmering anger flashed bright hot and she leapt to her feet. “I’m so sick of everyone keeping secrets from me!”
“Alyx, you were so different from the girl I remembered. I didn’t know how to tell you, and then I figured it would be better not to.” He took a breath. “It was wrong of me, and I apologise.”
She shook her head, forcing her hands to uncurl, allowing the anger to fade as quickly as it had surged. “Never again, Ladan.”
“I promise,” he agreed.
“What happened to our mother?”
“I truly don’t know, Aly-girl. Something happened when I was eleven, something she learned or heard about, I think. She left here in a rush. Before she rode out, she hugged me and told me she had something important to take care of. She promised to return as soon as it was done.” Ladan’s eyes dropped to his hands. “She never came back.”
Silence fell between them. As Alyx looked at her brother, she felt as if a tiny piece of herself that she’d never known was missing had come back.
“I don’t remember her, she took that away from me, but I’m sorry for what you had to go through,” she said softly. “And I’m sorry you had to lose me too.”
His head came up now, the tiny smile back. “I’m glad to have you back, Aly-girl.”
A single memory came back in such a rush it almost made her head spin. “It was you who called me that, not Papa,” she said in wonder. “I remember.”
“You couldn’t say your name when you were a baby; you kept saying ‘Aly’ all the time. So I started calling you Aly-girl. It stuck.”
A little tremor of joy shivered through her. “I think I’m going to like having a brother.”
“I am who I am, Alyx. That’s not going to change.”
“I know that.”
“And I can’t come back to DarkSkull.”
Disappointed, but trying not to show it, she sat back down. “I can visit you, right?” she said. “And you should come to Alistriem, at least occasionally. After all, you are a lord of Rionn. More importantly, you could see our father. I know he misses you terribly—he had no idea you’ve been so close all these years.” Alyx paused. “He tried looking for you. He tried so hard.”
Ladan’s face closed over and he gave his head a tiny shake. “Perhaps, one day.”
Alyx changed the subject, sensing his discomfort. “Have you had further trouble with Shiven in the disputed area? I assume you heard about the attack on the palace?”
“I’ve been having increasing amounts of trouble.” He sat back in the chair, instantly more at ease as he spoke about his lands. “The king asked me to come in, join a military council to discuss the attack on the palace, but I can’t afford the time. I get the impression the attacks have increased up on the north-western border of the disputed area too.”
“Near Port Rantarin,” Alyx mused aloud. “Why now?”
“I wish I knew.” He paused. “Worst-case scenario, Shivasa is planning an invasion, but that would be a risky move on their part for many reasons. If they invade, trade between us will stop, likely resulting in food shortages for their population.”
“Maybe they’ve come up with a way around that?”
“I certainly hope not.” He looked up. “When do you need to leave?”
“As soon as possible. The study year is about to start, if it hasn’t already, so I’m late as it is.” She hesitated, then: “Ladan, I’m a mage of the higher order.”
His eyes widened slightly, and something like dread flashed through them. “And you can access your magic?”
“Not consciously yet, unless I’m really scared or angry.”
“And Galien?”
“It’s his final year, so he’ll still be there. I’ll have to learn how to deal with him.”
“You send me a message at once if you need anything.” Ladan rose. “Can you stay until tomorrow, at least?”
“I’ll leave in the morning.”
He settled a hand on her shoulder, giving her that soft s
mile again. “I’m sorry, I have urgent business with Romney, but I’ll be back for dinner. Edar is my steward, he’ll take you to your room. If you need anything ask him.”
She barely noticed him leaving, her thoughts caught up in what he’d told her about the Shiven. A shiver went through her at the idea they might be planning an invasion. Nobody wanted full-scale war, and she could only hope the Shiven leadership shared that hope. Her thoughts jumped from the Shiven to her mother. She’d left Ladan expecting to come back, but had met her death instead. Something, or someone, out there had killed a fully trained mage of the higher order.
But why?
Chapter 3
Edar was elderly, with a starched white shirt and black breeches tucked into shiny black boots.
“If you’ll come with me, Lady Egalion?”
Alyx followed the old man out of the hall. He walked with a slightly stooped gait, and she found herself fascinated by his frizzy shock of white hair; it was so much at odds with his starched shirt and neat attire.
He didn’t take her far. After climbing a single flight of stairs and walking down a wide hallway, Edar stopped outside a closed door before using a brass key to open it. It was an enormous room. A four-poster bed stood beside the far wall with a large arched window set above it.
“I’ve already arranged to have your cloak cleaned and pressed, Lady Egalion. I’d be happy to have the same done to your robe.”
She shrugged the robe off with a grateful smile and he took it with two fingers, his nose crinkling in distaste. She wasn’t sure whether that was due to the odour or the dirt encrusted all around the hem. It could have been both.
Once he was gone, she hesitated, torn between the inviting pillows and thick quilt on the bed and the steaming bath opposite it. Exhaustion tugged at her, but she reluctantly plodded over to the bath instead. It wouldn’t do to mess up those fine sheets with her dirty skin and hair.
By the time she’d finished her bath, the sun was high in the sky. The bed looked more inviting than ever, but the Bluecoats had been playing on her mind as she bathed. She should probably find Dashan and ensure they were settling in without starting a brawl before sleeping.
